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Mitsubishi off-road Delica van, outdoorsy Outlander variant planned for US market

If you haven't been paying attention, you may be surprised to hear that Mitsubishi has been doing fairly well in the United States over the last several years. Once a mid-major (to borrow a college athletics term) program here in the States, the automaker's stagnating lineup and lack of vehicles with clear desirability — once you got past the hardcore Lancer Evolution series, at least — led to declining sales figures through the 2000s. The brand's more recent resurgence, led by the latest Mitsubishi Outlander and Outlander PHEV, which it co-developed with fellow Japanese partner Nissan, first began around the year 2018, says Mitsubishi North America President and CEO Mark Chaffin. "Momentum 2030 will build on that, setting the stage for new powertrains and vehicles being introduced, new dealerships being opened, and new technologies being developed to make the shopping and ownership experience faster, easier and more enjoyable." "New powertrains and new vehicles" are always keywords that pique the ears of automotive enthusiasts, and Mitsubishi seemingly has some solid stepping stones in the works to continue gaining momentum in the crucial American market, with trucks, crossovers and multi-purpose vehicles that could offer some truly interesting entries into segments the automaker hasn't dipped its toes in decades. One particular potential vehicle of interest is, oddly enough, a passenger van, which appears to be shown in the middle of the line-up preview photo below. But we're not talking about a run-of-the-mill minivan. According to dealership employees present at Mitsubishi's Momentum 2030 program cited by Automotive News, the van would take inspiration from the D:X Concept that we openly loved after its introduction in Tokyo last year. The van would reportedly maintain its rugged credentials — perfect for the growing number of Americans who embrace off-road lifestyles like camping and overlanding — and feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain. We can't imagine some of the concept's far-out features like a front glass panel to see the ground ahead or a dashboard and steering wheel setup that moves with the driver's door making it into production. The three-row, six-passenger seating arrangement and true off-road tuning on the other hand are likely items for the final product.

First new Datsun in decade sketched, set for Indian reveal

Nissan's Datsun nameplate revival will begin with two models bound for the Indian market. Nissan has released sketches of a five-door hatchback based on the Micra (codenamed K2) and a top-down view of a hood that could potentially be from a sedan.
The company's press release says all will be revealed on July 15 in New Delhi, India. The Datsun lineup will be first offered in 2014 to that country's ride-deprived residents as well as Indonesia and Russia. Later in 2014, South Africa will join the list.
We've heard Nissan plans for Datsuns to share platforms with company-owned Lada. In January, we heard the projected price tag could be around $3,000 USD to compete with Chinese imports. The official press release (which can be read in full below) says nothing about either of these reports, however.

January no slump for Chevy Volt this year

The mild winter didn't tank January sales for the Chevy Volt this year. While last month's sales were a lot lower than December's – because January new vehicle sales are almost always lower than December's - the second-gen Volt had a good month. GM sold 996 Chevy Volts last month, an increase of 83.8 percent over the 542 sold last January. In December, 2,114 Volts were sold. The trend wasn't as good over at Nissan, which sold 755 Leafs in January. That's a drop of 29.4 percent compared to the 1,070 sold in January 2015. Given the lower overall sales for the Leaf these days, the drop from December wasn't as bad, with 1,347 Leafs sold in the last month of 2015. What's absolutely amazing is that after over five complete years of sales, the cumulative totals of the Leaf and Volt sales in the US remain almost exactly the same. The current difference is only 600 units, with the Leaf on top. If the Volt continues to outsell the Leaf for the next few months – and all indications are that that is likely, since Nissan is offering the first-gen model while Chevy has put out it much-improved second-gen - then we will soon get back to an equilibrium like we were at the end of February 2015, when the difference was just two units. As always, our more complete wrap up of all the green car sales in the US will be coming soon. Stay tuned. Related Video: News Source: Nissan, GM Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric ev sales